El US Army a trav\u00e9s de su Unidad de Innovaci\u00f3n para la Defensa, ha seleccionado a la empresa ANDURIL Industries, para el desarrollo de un esquema integral de software imprescindible para avanzar en los ensayos y despliegue del Futuro Veh\u00edculo Robotizado de esa Fuerza. El Programa Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) es un ambicioso proyecto que lleva a\u00f1os de etapas de desarrollo y tiene por objetivo disponer de sistemas aut\u00f3nomos terrestres (UGV) capaces de operar junto con las tropas llevando abastecimientos y carga, realizando tareas de vigilancia y exploraci\u00f3n, detectando enemigos con sofisticados sensores y realizando tareas como remoci\u00f3n de explosivos y campos minados. El RCV forma parte adem\u00e1s de un gran programa integral denominado Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV), que incluye los grandes VC y la posibilidad de incorporar diferentes grados de autonom\u00eda. Miles de millones de US$ han sido requeridos por el US Army para el a\u00f1o fiscal 2025. El objetivo final: disponer de las \u201cHuman \u2013 Machine Integrated Formations: (H-MIF).<\/p>\n
The U.S. Army and Defense Innovation Unit selected Anduril Industries to develop a software framework thought foundational to testing and deploying future robotic combat vehicle payloads.<\/p>\n
The company announced the deal April 3 without providing\u00a0details about contract length<\/a>. A spokesperson declined to say how much the agreement is worth.<\/p>\n Robotic combat vehicles are unmanned systems envisioned to work alongside soldiers, schlepping supplies or surveilling adversaries with sophisticated sensors. The RCVs are also part of a larger Army overhaul dubbed Next Generation Combat Vehicle, which includes the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle, formerly the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.<\/p>\n Anduril\u2019s digital effort will enable RCV variants to\u00a0navigate terrain<\/a>, swap and adopt government-owned and third-party autonomy stacks, and allow remote management of a vehicle\u2019s equipment, according to its announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cIntegrating disparate hardware and software is a critical step in the development and validation of any autonomous system,\u201d Zach Mears, an Anduril senior vice president, said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Army in September tapped General Dynamics Land Systems, McQ, Oshkosh Defense and Textron Systems to build RCV prototypes, marking the start of a competition. The service later said it would no longer seek\u00a0separate light, medium and heavy models<\/a>, instead pivoting to a single sized platform that could tote specialty equipment such as smokescreen dispensers and electronic warfare tools.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the Army evaluates potential payloads, software modules, and autonomy stacks for the RCV program, developing a robust and flexible integration framework will prove critical to the program\u2019s success,\u201d Mears said.<\/p>\n The RCV endeavor is one of growing importance, as Army leadership pushes\u00a0man-and-machine collaboration<\/a>.<\/p>\n The service\u2019s fiscal 2025 budget request included millions of dollars for human-machine integrated formations, or H-MIF. Robots and other machinery programmed to execute a machine, or with control beamed in from afar, could significantly reduce risk to humans, potentially reducing casualties.<\/p>\n